articles

Learning is Fun with Eureka!

Sponsored

By Jennifer Schorr, Macaroni Kid Reading Publisher July 27, 2015
Summer Slide is what some people refer to when they are talking about the things that kids learned during the previous school year, but did not retain during the summer because they were not utilizing the skills they learned. For the upcoming school year, Oley Valley Middle School, the school that my son attends, will be implementing a new class.  My son, who is going into 8th grade, will have his regular math class, and also have a review math class. Personally, I am not in agreement with this decision, but that is because they are taking time away from health & physical education for this second math course. 

I understand the importance of learning math skills, but I feel that a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body, which is why I was thrilled to see all the great products that Eureka offers to make learning fun and help avoid the summer slide! Last week, Macaroni Kid Reading held a Dr. Seuss Party at Sweet Frog in Wyomissing, and during the party, I showcased some of the great classroom décor that Eureka offers from their Dr. Seuss line. Even though this is technically to decorate a classroom, there were plenty of ideas that I came up with that involved some learning games and activities that you can do at home with your children. The best part is they were having fun, and didn't even realize they were learning!

Cat in the Hat Chart Poster by Eureka
You can use this to track attendance, goals or behavior, and the Cat in the Hat Mini Stickers work perfectly to fill in the squares. At the party, I used this as a way for everyone to vote for their favorite Dr. Seuss book. "Green Eggs and Ham" was voted as the favorite, with "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" following closely behind.

photo     photo


Paper Cut Outs

I had a variety of paper cut outs to use, and made a couple of different activities using these. For the Thing 1 Cut Outs, I used the Dr. Seuss Label Stickers and wrote rhyming words on the labels then placed one label sticker on the back of each paper cut out. The kids then played a memory game in which they had to match the words that rhymed.

photo   photo

Using the Dr. Seuss One Fish, Two Fish Assorted Cut Outs I made a Sight Word Wall. Younger kids practiced reading the sight words, and older kids made a game out of it. Partnering together, one older child would say one of the words, and the other child would then see how quickly they could find it on the wall.

photo   photo

I used the Eureka Paper Cat in the Hat Cut Outs to decorate and to make a counting game.  The kids had fun trying to find and count all the hats.

photo

The other items were used to decorate the room, such as the Dr. Seuss Pennant Banner, which was sturdy and had designs on both sides.  I also liked the Dr. Seuss Manuscript Alphabet Set which has colorful designs and fun characters and features both upper case and lower case letters.

All of these items and more are available for purchase on the Eureka website, or locally at Educational & Fun, Cross Keys Center, 10E Winco Lane, Reading, PA 19605.

Here are what some families had to say about the party:

"Great ideas to work with my preschooler and the kids had fun! Thanks" ~Yara M.
"So much fun! Thank you! The kids loved it!" ~Nicole L.


*I was provided with these items for the purpose of this review, however all opinions are my own.